My Living Room, Finished or Not!

I have noticed quite a few bloggers going through their goals from last year and checking them off, and it sorta makes me want to cringe. Because, I am afraid to look at my goals. I wrote them while I was nesting. The world was my oyster, I was no longer dealing with morning sickness and I didn’t yet have that second baby to work around. I am realizing (hindsite is 20/20) that I am lucky to be alive and still blogging as often as I do with two babies under 2 for most of this last year – so goals-shmoals!The most frustrating part, is that I haven’t shown you so much of what we have done. I just haven’t had that much time to blog about my projects. To add insult to injury, I also have this save if for a rainy day mentality, and then projects never get shared. OR I get to a livable point in a project and get so TIRED of working on it that I stop… and it sits undone for 2 years – and I really don’t notice until I photograph. Then, when I start editing the images, I don’t feel like I can show you. BUT I have to get over it.

So here, my living room… today while the girls were napping! (which is why it looks clean)

I am not a professional _____whatever this job is______(fill in the blank).

I am just a mom, and wife trying to juggle everything… (which is impossible by the way! But I am usually one of the only ones that sees all the dishes piling up!)

When it comes to sharing my projects, what else is stopping me, besides lack of time? I don’t have new furniture, I haven’t finished fixing the furniture I plan on updating, and we have a budget (well really that isn’t true, we don’t have any more allotted funds for this project at the moment)… and I have toys, spit up and cat hair on my couches, and a HUGE pile of clothes in the laundry room… and that is my life.

This is what I know about myself: I am a perfectionist… I am (often) a procrastinator…. I have a short attention span… I can be a little too laid back about finishing projects on a schedule. I have 2 beautiful girls, a great husband, a black cat… and my yard really needs to be mowed! So many other things to do. I also run this blog, and have an email in perpetual stuffed-ness mode, feels a bit like drowning in email (sometimes I feel like “Uncle Vernon-ing” my little tail to an remote island to get away from all the mail)!

(BTW – I am not trying to complain, I am just on a little journey of discovery… and trying to get over my own personal imperfections and quirks!)

I am constantly fighting the feeling of not having it good enough, or changing my mind mid project so I don’t show you what I am up to. But today, I am showing you my living room, I took the pictures this afternoon. There are moldings missing, paint is missing, holes to be patched or sanded, my art is push pinned to the wall… and not in a “I’m too cool to care way”, but in a “Wouldn’t it be nice to have something on my wall, since I bought this… oh well what the heck way…” and there are a lot of things that are unfinished… but here it is.

* I ended up buying a sofa on Craig’s List for $30 bucks. I got a slip cover I got from Uglysofa.com, they have great prices, and are hosting a giveaway here next week!!! So come back!

I do plan on recovering the sofa (or replacing it), but for now this is SO much better than it was!

Before:

Currently:

Before:

Currently (obviously we still haven’t touched the kitchen):

Not sure if I have before shots from this angle, so here are a few extras:

And yes, this is a space with children, so I have a toy “box”. One of those picnic baskets… I may paint it. But I had to show off some of the cute toys I made for the girls… and never showed you all. (the monkey, cat and girl doll… the monkey’s ears are not finished…sound familiar?)

Okay, so there. It is out there, missing moldings, no art up, unpainted chair, and free of all the cool things that 2 years old pull off of table tops. I have a few things to do, but I am happy to have gotten this project off my chest.

p.s. One of the reason’s the art is not done is because I plan on building a faux fireplace mantel. But I just have to say, do you notice how the painting and the rug are like a perfect color match… a happy accident! I am so glad about it. Both were considered for the proper color scheme, but I didn’t know they would be meant for each other!

If you like this project would you consider sharing it via pin, stumble, facebook or twitter?

I would be so thankful! Thanks for reading all my personal drama!

Remodelaholic is written by Cassity and Justin. Cassity has a degree in interior design and Justin is a landscape architect, so we adore everything that makes up a HOME! We love to share home remodeling ideas and projects we’re working on. From huge kitchen renovation ideas to small bathroom remodels, there isn’t anything we won’t try to tackle (at least once!). We are in the midst of our third whole home renovation, (check out house 1 and house 2 as well, so there should be a lot more inspiration coming your way. We hope that you will stop by often for home design inspiration, tutorials, interior design tips, delicious recipes and what going on in our family life.

Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.

About Cassity

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. She is an interior designer, wife, and mother of two. She and Justin have remodeled three homes from top to bottom and are working on their fourth. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

Comments

This is unbelievable!!! You guys are amazing. I have to ask when do you have time with kids??? I am so trying to figure out a way to balance kids, work, and home improvement. Thanks for sharing 🙂 Please tell me your secrets with finding the time!

Karen, we do a LOT of tag team… and A LOT of staying up late after the kids are in bed… but this project was also pretty much completed before I had my second child… one is SO much easier! And I will admit, there was quite a bit of movie watching for a week or two. Good luck! What I have learned with projects is that what works for one, doesn’t work for the next, so you have to be really flexible! Sorry I guess this really doesn’t have an answer, but I do understand!

It is an HGTV by Shaw rug. You can order it online from the Shaw site… OR if you get on their site they probably will have links to local retailers! Good Luck ( I still LOVE my rug!, I kinda want another from their line!)

Jonathan, we used Lumber Liquidators Virginia Mill Works 5″, Hand-scraped, Yorktown Plank. It is an engineered hardwood floating floor. We love it and plan on adding it to our bedroom if we get the chance. It has help up really well with lots of traffic and kids.

I have been looking for a slipcover for my sofa and love the look of yours. What did you do to get individual seat covers? None of the slip-covers I’ve found have covers for the seat sections and covers always stay messed up. Thanks

holy crap! that looks amazing! i have so many projects/unfinished projects and ideas that i swear it drives my husband nuts! i do almost everything my self also. we have such awkward spaces in our house. I love all the moldings/frames and built in book shelves. i feel like i should send you pictures of my house and let you design my next project lol!

I am so glad I read your post today. I always carry around guilt for not getting stuff done in a timely manner. Guess what, I am not alone! I always look up to the blog girls that get so much done and it looks so beautiful. I love your front room, all of it. Every thing will get done sooner or later. In the mean time enjoy your family and know that you are very talented and human like the rest of us.

Hi Cassidy ,
You are incredible. I totally identify with you but I am mother of five grown children and 15 grandchildren and am deep into projects. My kids call me the chair Mom. Have just redone eight chair seats and am busy painting French provincial dining chairs into a off white
White shabby chic. But felt inspired to write you a note and tell you, Enjoy your little ones and don’ t be so hard on yourself. You have done an amazing redo of your spaces and am so happy that you have a husband on board. It has taken me 30 years to get my husband to be involved. You are very blessed. I feel that your projects help you define your talents. So, keep them going, just relax the pac. That from a Grandma, who has raised the children, had a banking career, and now am enjoying the sunset years deep into project between traveling to see all my beautiful grandchild. Have a great day. You are awesome .

Peggy! You are so sweet, it is so helpful to feel the support of other mothers who have made it through. I know that sometimes it it just the being in the middle of it all that is so hard, but hearing a helpful hint or a “Survivor” story really keeps me motivated. I know I will never regret my choice to be a mother! So I should just enjoy it!

I LOVE what you’ve done with this room! Just wondering what color you painted the walls and trim? Also, what kind of flooring did you use? My husband and I close on our first home next week and are trying to figure out paint colors, etc to update the house and make it feel more like our own.

Maren, The color that we painted on the walls and trim was a Martha Stewart eggshell base white. They don’t sell that Martha Stewart anymore, but you can probably use any base white. I hope all goes well with the projects. As for the flooring, we purchased from Lumber Liquidators. See this post for details. Thanks.

Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.